Winchester, James

Winchester, James (1752–1826) Revolutionary and U.S. army officer. Born in Carroll County, Maryland, James Winchester was captured twice by the British during the Revolutionary War. He finished that conflict as a captain with Nathanael Greene's army at Yorktown (1781). In 1785 he moved to Tennessee, where he eventually became a brigadier general of militia. When war with England loomed in 1812, he was appointed to the same rank in the U.S. army, and took several regiments to Cincinnati. After a dispute with William Henry Harrison about command of the Army of the Northwest, Winchester took command of one wing. He was captured when a large British-Indian force attacked him at the River Raisin in January 1813, and Indians slaughtered many of his troops after they surrendered. The River Raisin Massacre became an American rallying cry for the rest of the war. Winchester was exchanged after a year of captivity and finished the conflict as commander of the District of Mobile.